Dublin Coffman Roundup: Boys team features deep roster

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Dec 4, 2018 at 12:35 PMDec 4, 2018 at 3:00 PM

Since Jamey Collins took over as coach for the 2002-03 season, the Dublin Coffman High School boys basketball team has been to 11 Division I district finals, winning four titles, including last season.

The group of talent the Shamrocks will have on the court this season might be as good or even better than some of those past championship teams, according to Collins.

Coffman opened Nov. 30 with an 84-44 win at Mansfield Senior and beat Dayton Thurgood Marshall 78-50 on Dec. 1 at home.

"With so many returning guys, we've been kind of moving right along," Collins said. "We do have some guys that are fortunately playing at a high level, and I think we have so many very high-level players, probably more than normal. Across the board, I don't know if we've ever been more athletic than this."

The Shamrocks peaked at the right time last season, losing twice during the regular season to Upper Arlington to settle for second in the OCC-Central Division at 8-2 behind the first-place Golden Bears (10-0) but avenging those losses with a 68-51 victory over UA in a district final.

Coffman then lost 58-38 to Pickerington Central in a regional semifinal to finish 20-7 overall.

Dominiq Penn, a 6-foot junior guard, scored 30 points in the district final and averaged 16.5 points, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals while earning first-team all-league and second-team all-district honors. He entered the season with 800 career points.

Senior Derek Van Vlerah is a 6-6 wing player who averaged 10.5 points and was named second-team all-league and honorable mention all-district, and 6-3 senior forward Will Hunter averaged eight points and was second-team all-league and honorable mention all-district.

Two additions who should make an impact are 6-3 senior forward Patrick Preece and 5-9 freshman guard Ajay Sheldon.

Preece is a transfer from Hilliard Davidson and an Asbury commit who was second-team all-league last season, while Sheldon is the brother of two-time Division I district Player of the Year Jacy Sheldon of the girls team.

The other seniors are Jack Greenwalt (6-3, guard/forward) and Evan James (5-10, guard).

Penn scored 36 points in the opener and followed by making six 3-pointers and scoring 28 points against Thurgood Marshall.

The only key players lost from last season were Nick Carlson, an honorable mention all-league and all-district honoree who averaged 10 points and is now playing for Ohio Wesleyan, and Trevor Grady, who averaged 6.5 points and was second-team all-league.

"It's just a unique team where everything is kind of by committee," Collins said. "We've got a lot of guys back, so the familiarity has been really nice. It's just a bunch of guys who are trying to get better and it's always fun getting a group to that point. They like to compete and they like to play."

Wrestlers loaded with youth, talent

Despite having just three seniors in its postseason lineup last winter, the wrestling team won OCC-Central and Division I sectional titles and had eight district qualifiers.

The Shamrocks might end up with a similar number of seniors in their lineup by season's end, but that's because young talent continues to emerge.

"Our lineup is subject to change and is still a work in progress," seventh-year coach Chance Van Gundy said.

"At this point in time, we're trying to develop depth across the board. It could look a lot different in January."

Coffman returns six district qualifiers, with senior Lennox Wolak (182 pounds) expected to lead the way again after finishing fourth at state.

Last year's other state qualifier was 2018 graduate Ben Yost (138).

Seniors Antonio Gonzalez (152) and Eric Feng (heavyweight), juniors Nick Copley (160) and R.J. Carpenter (195) and sophomore Jimmy Baumann (113) also competed at district last season, with Baumann placing fifth at 106 and finishing 36-4 overall. Carpenter, Copley and Gonzalez all won more than 20 matches and Feng won 19.

Also returning after being district alternates last season are juniors Leo Alvarez (170) and Davante Cooper (126). Senior Morgan Adams (132) was a sixth-place finisher at sectional last season.

Seth Shumate, who placed fifth in Cadet Freestyle and fourth in Cadet Greco-Roman at nationals last summer, is a 170-pound freshman who could make an immediate impact. He is competing with Alvarez and sophomore Michael Blocher.

"We have high hopes for this team," Van Gundy said. "Although we'll lack experience in several weight classes, our team goals stay the same. We want to be wrestling well enough to compete for OCC, regional and district titles. There are several teams in the area that will be pretty good on paper, so we'll have our work cut out for us."

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